KABUL (Reuters) – Two NATO helicopters killed 30 suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban elements on Pakistani soil after a rare manned pursuit across the border from Afghanistan, NATO forces said on Sunday.
The two Apache attack helicopters from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) crossed the border from eastern Afghanistan on Friday after the insurgents attacked a remote Afghan security outpost in Khost province.
ISAF spokesman Sergeant Matt Summers confirmed that the helicopters had attacked after crossing into Pakistan. He did not comment on which countriesÂ’ forces were involved, but the US is the only coalition member that uses Apaches.
The US regularly uses pilotless drone aircraft for missile strikes in PakistanÂ’s borderlands.
However, manned military flights across the border are extremely rare. ISAF said in a statement issued late on Sunday that the helicopters were following its rules of engagement when they crossed into Pakistan.
Two Kiowa helicopters returned to the area on Saturday and killed at least four more insurgents, the statement said.
ISAF was not immediately able to confirm whether the Kiowa helicopters had also crossed the border. US forces make up the majority of ISAF troops in Afghanistan’s east. A new book by veteran US journalist Bob Woodward claims that the Central Intelligence Agency also has a 3,000-man “covert army” of elite, well-trained Afghans, who conduct secret operations in Pakistan, according to The Washington Post.
The newspaper obtained an advance copy of the book, which is due for release on Monday.
Despite the presence of almost 150,000 foreign troops, violence is at its worst across Afghanistan since US-backed Afghan forces ousted the Taliban in late 2001.